Velocity Gaming Was In Talks With Valorant Players From NA, EMEA & SEA

Velocity Gaming's owner, Manoj "Sentinel" Kashyap, recently discussed the organization's efforts to recruit foreign players for its Valorant roster. Sentinel stated that the organization was considering signing foreign players and spoke with over ten international players from North America (NA), Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA), and Southeast Asia (SEA) about joining its Valorant roster. Despite the discussions and tryouts, the organization could not sign any player due to the different schedules of the Valorant International League in different regions.

Velocity Gaming Founder reveals the organization spoke with over ten foreign players

In a recent livestream, a viewer asked Sentinel if Velocity Gaming would import players for its Valorant roster. Responding to this, Sentinel stated that the organization considered signing foreign players for its Valorant roster and even had tryouts. "We were specifically looking for a few roles, specifically in terms of support and secondary or primary IGL. We had an option of getting two people," he said. 

In December 2022, former professional Valorant player for Guild Esports, Russel "Russ" Mendes, visited the bootcamp of Velocity Gaming. At that time, the organization did not reveal the reason behind Russ' visit to the bootcamp. However, in the livestream, Sentinel revealed that Russ visited the bootcamp for a tryout in Velocity Gaming's Valorant roster. "We did a lookout. I spoke with over ten players, all combined from North America, EMEA, and SEA. One of the players even visited our bootcamp, Russel (Russ)," he said. "We tried our options to see if he would work out in our roster," he added. 

Sentinel revealed that Velocity Gaming tried many things, but the main problem that held them back was the lack of information. "Many things were done, but the problem here, ultimately, was not having enough information going into the league," he said. He added that many other regions around the world have already begun participating in the league and have progressed to the advanced stages of the league. Due to this, the organization could not give any commitments to foreign players as it was unable to commit to the league itself. This lack of commitment has prevented Velocity Gaming from signing import players on its Valorant roster.

Velocity Gaming currently features a star-studded five-player roster consisting of all Indian players: Anuj "Amaterasu" Sharma, Sagnik "Hellff" Roy, Debanjan "DEATHMAKER" Das, Saksham "Deadly10" Aurangabadkar, and Karan "Excali" Mhaswadkar. Throughout its journey in Valorant esports, Velocity Gaming has put forth a commendable performance, winning some of the top-level regional tournaments, including the Valorant Conqueror Championship (VCC) 2022: Stage 1 and Skyesports Pro Invitational - S2. It will be interesting to see how the roster performs in Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) 2023 Ascension.